Uncharted Waters

AVA’s POVThere’s a mood that comes with working in the “La Table d’Elise” restaurant. Maybe it’s the groups of rich men and women looking down on us, the workers, as they move in fleets and duos, booking the best tables, having the best meals, and these meals being served by the lower class. They get a kick from it, I think.One of the servers being me, of course. I remember coming to Monaco from Italy, thinking this would be the land of possibilities and I would make enough money to send home to my sick brother, but it’s been job after job and little pay after little pay.Tonight, though, we are going to be paid double what we are usually paid because of a private party. I love the private parties mostly by the women; it’s either pasta and wine or a tea party during the day; the parties that involve a lot of men and drinking; you can already guess how that goes; there are tormenting us the servers, trying to bring us home with them, looked down on, spit on, or ass smacked by drunk m

AVA’s POV Walking home, the scene replays in my head; my heartbeat speeds up, and it feels like I have some heart condition as I can hear my heartbeat clearly. ‘Hey, be careful! I hear a scream behind me and a bicycle wheezing past me. I jump out of the way, my eyes moving haphazardly like I’m about to be grabbed by those men again. Quickly, I finish the walk to my apartment complex when I realize one important factor: my food is gone. I think back to the scene and realize I dropped the food bag in fear. I sigh, staring at the doors of the elevator. Should I head back? Will it be worth it? I enter the elevator, my shoulders hung in defeat. Turning around, my longtime crush since I moved into this building steps in. ‘Good evening, Samuel’ I immediately engage him in a conversation. ‘Oh, Ava, good evening, dear. How was work?’ ‘It was quite a day’, I reply with a shy smile. I lost my dinner though. I frown thinking about the scary scene from before. The elevator doors open, an

AVA’s POV‘Welcome to La Table d’Elise,’ I turn to the couple who just sat down. ‘I will be your waitress today. These are your menus.’ I place them on the table when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and my eyes move to the clock first, 11:29, and then to Mr. Oliver.‘Sir?’‘Follow me’ Sorry, Sir, Mam, a new server will be with you immediately, he says with a warm smile and spins around.I immediately follow him into the locker room where he stands, his arms crossed over the other, his feet tapping the floor.‘Uhm, Oliver, what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?’‘You’re fired, Ava. I’m sorry, but this came from the owner. You have to pack your things and go now; this is your last paycheck.’ He hands me an envelope while I stand in shock and process what just happened.‘I don’t understand. What did I do?’ I stutter‘I don’t know either, dearie, but you’ve been dropped’. He shrugs, tapping my shoulder in pity, and walking out of the room.My heart skips a bit when my phone

After further discussion, he sends me home in the car that brought me, with clear instructions, pack whatever is important to me tonight, say goodbyes to whoever matters and get ready because tomorrow I will be heading to his apartment here in Monaco to go over the offer again, as well as rules and regulations surrounding the marriage and after that, we will be moving to London.The night is short and I toss and turn in my bed, wondering if I made the right decision, as soon as the sun comes up, I start to pack, its easy packing out from my home, I didn’t have a lot, just a few tattered clothes I repeated over and over again and work uniforms.Soon I hear a knock on the door and it’s not the driver, Mr. William, I open the door and my eyes meet with Samuel.“Samuel, good morning”“Good morning Ava, he frowns staring into my house, are you moving out?”I nod, “yes I am, I will be moving out of town also, I’ve had enough of this city you know” I shrug my shoulders“oh” he says the light